Adventures in the Screen Trade: A Personal View of Hollywood and Screenwriting

Having recently begun adapting my novel Untimed into a screenplay, I'm doing my usual slog through the relevant homework. What more can we say about William Goldman than: The Princess Bride (both the novel and the screenplay). If that doesn't make you feel invincible, then take Marathon Man, All the Presidents Men, or Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid. And those are but a few of his produced films. Last year, I read the equally famous Save the Cat, which is a good book, but I marveled that the late author, while a hugely touted screenwriter, hadn't written any good (produced) films. So not true of Goldman.This work is fascinating, but it's only about a third writing manual. It's really three books: 1) a witty and insightful skewering of Hollywood, 2) personal stories from the trenches about each of Goldman's pre 1982 films, 3) the Butch Cassidy screenplay, discussions of its strengths and weaknesses, and an adaption of a short story into a screenplay.The skewering is caustic, hilarious, and even thirty years later, dead on. Goldman is famous for his "nobody knows anything" quote and how true it seems. His discussions of studio executives, agents, stars, and the intertwined nightmare of power is insightful bordering on clairvoyant. Most of the trends that he sees in motion in 1982 have continued and accelerated to bring us to the moderately dismal state of contemporary filmmaking (there are exceptions of course). Think both Entourage and the brilliant "The Day the Movies Died" GC article. Also, having worked with/for Universal, Sony, and Fox... well it was just all too funny and familiar.The personal section terrified me. I hope to see Untimed make the leap to film, as it will make a great one, and it's made vividly clear in Adventures that even a major screenwriter like Goldman is but a candle in the wind before the studio gale. This is made all the more peculiar by the fact that the screenplay is the single most important ingredient that goes into a movie. Film is a highly collaborative and commercial medium, but you really can't make a good movie out of a bad script (unless you rewrite it to be a good script). You can however, make a lousy film out of a great script, or a hit film out of a bad one (Transformers anyone?).Part three isn't a good introduction to either writing screenplays or writing, but I sure did find it useful. Goldman hammers home many of the oft-repeated (but for a reason) messages of screenwriting, particularly his emphasis on structure. He's a wonderful storyteller and his adaption example is so ridiculous, that it's impressive to watch how he makes such a trite concept almost work.If any of these topics fascinate you, give Adventures a read. Besides, Goldman's such a good writer, he could make cereal-box copy a bestseller.Andy Gavin, author of Untimed and The Darkening Dream

An excellent book. It is filled with interesting and amusing anecdotes. A lot of fun to read.

Goldman’s book offers a lot of insight into what really goes into the making of a motion picture. If a camel is a horse designed by committee, then a movie is a recipe with so many cooks that the finished product might barely be recognized by the original creator. My one complaint is that too much of it seems padded with substantial excerpts from motion picture scripts. But on balance, it’s a fascinating read from someone who has been involved in some remarkable films, both as an author and screenwriter as well as a script doctor.

This book is written with a warm, personal and conversational style that makes you forgot you are reading. It offers the priceless opportunity to spend many hours one-on-one with a great writer, whose list of screen and literary credits is long and without match.His screen credits span almost five deceased, starting with Masquerade (with Michael Relph; 1965), Harper (1966), Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid (1969; Academy Award), The Hot Rock (1972), The Stepford Wives (1975), The Great Waldo Pepper (1975), Marathon Man (1976) - based on his novel, All the President's Men (1976; Academy Award), A Bridge Too Far (1977), Magic (1978; Edgar Award) - based on his novel, Heat (1986) - based on his novel, The Princess Bride (1987) - based on his novel, Twins (1988; uncredited), Misery (1990), A Few Good Men (1992; consultant), Memoirs of an Invisible Man (1992), Year of the Comet (1992), Chaplin (1992), Indecent Proposal (1993; uncredited), Last Action Hero (1993; uncredited), Malice (1993; consultant), Maverick (1994),Dolores Claiborne (1995; consultant), The Chamber (1996) - based on the novel by John Grisham, Extreme Measures (1996; consultant), The Ghost and the Darkness (1996), Good Will Hunting (1997; consultant), Absolute Power (1997), The General's Daughter (1999), Hearts in Atlantis (2001), Dreamcatcher (2003), Wild Card (2014) - based on his novel.In this book, Goldman tells us how his life and craft took him on a lifelong adventure in the creative world of novels and films (and much more!). And he tells it like it is (or was) with grande modesty, cutting humor, and cynical yet heartfelt sincerity -- and without reservations.I would recommend this book not only to those who love novels and movies, but also to anyone interested in biographies of people who accomplished incredible achievements in their chosen trade while overcoming modest beginnings, economic hardships, personal weaknesses, vicious naysayers, and outright impassable barriers on the path to an unlikely yet breathtaking success.This is a wonderful book about an incredible life in the real world of make belief. Highly recommended!Avraham Azrieli writes books and screenplays.

I couldn't really get into The Princess Bride, so I was cruising for other WG books, and my finger accidentally hit the "buy with one click" button. Not that I didn't want to buy it, but now is a particularly poor sprint for me, so the accident was a sort of blessing - buy without guilt.I wanted a WG book because I was watching the Directors Cut of North by Northwest, and Earnest Lehman, the screenwriter was one of the commentators. He said that Mr. Goldman put the script for the crop duster scene in his book The Adventure (sorry, I've forgotten the title). I found no such thing, but WG did write a lot about the scene.What impressed me so much about Earnie (as another commentator called him) and, now, William Goldman, too, is that they're such sweethearts. Such truly kind and caring (about the whole human race) people. Yes, they're funny, but they're not only funny because they like being funny but also because they care, and they're smart enough to know that one of the most effective ways to scare people into being nicer, is to hit them in the funny bone.I loved Willie's book, especially the tender, funny, frank story Da Vinci, about a young boy, his barber father, and the stranger who comes into their lives and challenges the young boy's sense of loyalty and his own true identity.Of course it's an interesting view into what it takes to be a screen-writer and/or a creative person in general, but it's also a profoundly sweet book from a man who speaks from the heart.

This is not a text book, but it should be required reading for anyone who wants a career in the motion picture industry - or anyone who loves film in general. Why is it not a textbook? Because it is one heck of an entertaining read. The book runs almost six-hundred pages and I devoured it in just a couple of days.William Goldman is one of most respected screenwriters alive; he knows as much about it as anyone. What he gives us is a picture of Hollywood (the business and who does what), the art of writing a screenplay, the process of working on a film, and his own personal anecdotes. One of the chief pleasures of the book is how cheerfully gossipy it is. "PART ONE: HOLLYWOOD REALITIES" is full of stories of the excesses of Hollywood that people out there consider normal. A lot of the time he doesn't supply names, but sometimes he does. (Dustin Hoffman, while a brilliant actor, is notorious for being a bit eccentric.) He also gives us an idea of how the studio works and how pictures get made.The last third of the book will primarily interest serious film students. Goldman includes his entire script for Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid, and uses it as a teaching tool. Then he presents a short story he wrote and uses that as a teaching tool regarding adapting previously written material.This book was written in 1982 and reading it is a stroll down memory lane. That was a dark time in motion picture history. Most of the films he references from that period have been forgotten. In other words, it is just like today. We need to read this book again more than ever.

This is really three or four books in one. One of the books is "My Advice to Aspiring Screenwriters." This encompasses both advice on writing and on navigating Hollywood as a writer. I am not an aspiring screenwriter, so I found these sections somewhat interesting but not too compelling.Another book in here is "My Experiences with Hollywood," i.e. the author's memoirs. This is pretty interesting stuff for movie/Hollywood buffs. I especially enjoyed reading about the making of "All the President's Men," one of my favorite films. A lot is written about "Butch Cassidy and the Sundance Kid," of which I am not so much a fan.There is also a book that could be called "Hollywood Gossip," where Goldman is pretty shameless and doesn't hold back, especially vis-a-vis naming names. I compare this to Sidney Lumet's excellent "Making Movies," where he relates some gossipy stories (basically involving obnoxious stars), but Lumet doesn't name names.Finally, there is the entire screenplay of "Butch," and a discussion of its strengths and weaknesses. You will like this if you like "Butch." Also, a short story of his called "Da Vinci," an accompanying short screenplay, and some discussion of that. There are interviews with great filmmakers, including cinematographer Gordon Willis and editor Dede Allen, that are worthwhile reading.

When he wrote this, there were still forty years of his career ahead. Because, I imagine, he was still hoping for some work to come his way, this book couldn't be a typical Hollywood Tell All. He tells some, he describes a lot. But mostly he chats interestingly about screen writing. Then, the last third of the book is more like a seminar or workshop that the reader observes while he writes a short story (which is a chapter in the book), turns it into a screen play (which is also in the book) and then submits it to a series of movie making professionals (director, producer, cinematographer, editor, etc.). That this book was published near the end of the era he describes (StarWars is new) makes it feel a little like a museum piece and causes me, a naif, to wonder if the culture and process he knows and describes so well exists. I'm glad I read it, but will wait a bit before going after subsequent volumes.

Even today, in 2016/17, this is still the best book to learn about the movie business: informative, authentic, candid and most entertaining.

The book is a bit dated (1982) but it gives you a few precious insights.I'm not a writer of any kind but the creative process intrigues and that's the reason I bought the book.I think it makes us understand movies and the narrative choices.The author has some strong opinions that might ruffle some feathers.

Absolutely superb and essential - not to mention amusing and highly insightful - account of the great screenwriter and novelist William Goldman's various films, which include MARATHON MAN, ALL THE PRESIDENT'S MEN and A BRIDGE TOO FAR, as related by the man himself. What a book! This is possibly the most highly regarded and enduring screenwriting book of them all, not just for the detailed revelations and insights into his various films but his comments about the film industry as a whole. And it's not just a screenwriting guide, with plenty of advice - it's highly entertaining and amusing along the way and sometimes feels as though he's sitting opposite you telling you all about his amusing 'adventures in the screen trade'. Perhaps we shouldn't be surprised about the humour and fun here, since this book is from the screenwriter of BUTCH CASSIDY AND THE SUNDANCE KID, which as a movie still stands up fresh as a daisy to this day IMHO. This edition of ADVENTURES IN THE SCREEN TRADE is particularly valuable because it contains the full screenplay of BUTCH CASSIDY along with Goldman's comments, both positive and negative, about his screenplay. To me this book is absolute gold dust - and highly entertaining gold dust! Buy it - you won't regret it. In fact, buy it along with Blake Snider's SAVE THE CAT, enjoy the ride with both books and you'll be in good shape to create and write screenplays and, you never know, maybe even get somewhere with them. Good luck!

Book came in very poor conditions. I ordered it new and it looks used.

Ok